destruction

Yes . . . Yes, I feel that there's no chance for me to exist, if they do . . . no chance, no room, no world I can cope with. . . . I don't want to feel it, I keep pushing it back, but it's coming closer and I know I have no place to run. . . . I can't explain what it feels like, I can't catch hold of it - and that's path of the terror, that you can't catch hold of anything - it's as if the whole world were suddenly destroyed, but not by an explosion - an explosion is something hard and solid - but destroyed by . . . by some horrible kind of softening . . . as if nothing were solid, nothing held any shape at all, and you could poke your finger through stone walls and the stone would give, like jelly, and mountains would slither, and buildings would switch their shapes like clouds - and that would be the end of the world, not fire and brimstone, but goo.

In the index to the six hundred odd pages of Arnold Toynbee's A Study of History, abridged version, the names of Copernicus, Galileo, Descartes and Newton do not occur yet their cosmic quest destroyed the medieval vision of an immutable social order in a walled-in universe and transformed the European landscape, society, culture, habits and general outlook, as thoroughly as if a new species had arisen on this planet.

Centuries earlier, Job suffered immeasurable losses. His wealth was stripped from him; his family destroyed. Finally, after all else was gone, he was stricken with boils and failing health. Every day and every hour he suffered physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. His friends mocked him, but Job remained faithful. He emphatically declared, For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God. (Job 19: 25-26.)

Power may justly be compared to a great river; while kept within it bounds it is both beautiful and useful, but when it overflows its banks, it is then too impetuous to be stemmed; it bears down all before it, and brings destruction and desolation wherever it comes.